Survival of the Fittest is not an easy race. There are a lot of stairs. There are a lot of walls. There are a remarkable array of objects you have to clamber over and under and through and round.

But the thing that makes Survival different to all the other races out there is, from dance track-accompanied start to sodden finish, it never stops being enjoyable – even when you’re lugging a heavy sandbag up and down four flights.

Survival’s unique sense of fun was perhaps most in evidence at a new addition to the obstacle roster, which we humbly christen The House of Bubbles.

Resembling a Lilliputian foam party, the constantly streaming suds required you to dive down beneath the cloudy mass in order to scrabble, blindly, through the crawlspace exit. Not since Bar Riza in Cardiff circa 2006 has this correspondent felt such a mix of genuine fear and amusement in a pleasantly foamy environment.

Elsewhere, there was an excruciatingly difficult rope climb, the classic tarpaulin-ed slide down the Wembley gangway, a long amble through tunnels and ankle deep water, and a lot of swinging from rings, strings of rope, bars and wooden blocks.

On a blazingly hot day, spirits were not dampened despite, this year, the absence of Survival veteran and Men’s Health Publishing Director, 76-year-old Alun Williams, who confined himself strictly to ceremonial duties. Ross Macdonald claimed victory in an impressive time of 40:28, just 16 seconds ahead of his nearest rival. The fastest woman, Andrea Berquez, clambered over the dreaded Wall of Fame to finish in 48:02.

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